X-YACHT 41 120 | offshore backsides happy. A moulded toerail, inboard of the gunwale, runs forward of the mast and keeps the bowmen on the ship. But the piece de resistance, the sweetest detail of all, the one that really appeals, is the graduations on the shroud bases so rig settings can be replicated easily ("for a rough trim guide", says the brochure). The rod rigging is discontinuous, the backstay is Spectra. The more gung ho can option a hydraulic ram for the mast base to provide rig tension. Enough of the detail, let's go sailing. Sydney Harbour is in its most benign mood. The sun is out, it is 25 degrees or so, the sea breeze hits 12 knots for one second, but spends most of the time in the 6-8 range. A few more knots would have been nice. The 40 hp Volvo is almost silent. When we turn it off to go sailing, there is only a small noise difference. Up go the sails, North 3DL Kevlar. The main is sheeted in using one of the Harken 44s which control the split German-style mainsheet. The short-footed genoa (108%) is winched in by a three-speed Harken #48. Sheet lead angle is adjusted with the 8:1 on the traveller cars. "When you get to target speed, which is around 7.5 knots in 15", says Rob McClelland from North South Yachting, "you hit the accelerator". To demonstrate, he gives a one-handed pull on the barber hauler line which emerges from the main bulkhead. The jib clew comes inboard and we climb higher. The carbon wheel has a 170 cm diameter but is not too tall for those of us of moderate height, Andrew Parkes points out. You can straddle the wheel and reach the mainsheet traveller and even the mainsheet winch if you have to. The backstay, too, is right there, a single line which works a large-diameter magic wheel located in the aft cabin. One skipper of an X-35, which has a similar system, likes to pump the backstay over waves. The moulded foot supports seem effective and well-placed, but are not needed today. The steering is as good as any I have tried, perfectly-weighted and geared. This is a wire and quadrant system but the quadrant is mounted high, immediately beneath the moulding the helmsman stands on. There's only a metre of cable and one set of sheaves, so the system generates no The saloon's cupboards and table can be removed for racing The X-41 holding her own